Container



Feb. 4, 1958 A. w. VAN DYKE 2,822,119 X CONTAINER Filed Feb. 12, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet l KHRJ. w' FLocks ATTORNEY Feb. 4, 1958 A. w. VAN DYKE 2,822,119

CONTAINER Filed Feb. 12, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1N VENTOR kam. LOFTZUCQ M ATTORNEY United Sttcs Pawn? e CONTAINER Arthur W. Van Dyke, Elizabeth, ,N.-J.-,1assignor to The Diamond Match CompanypNew York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application February 12, 1954, ;Serial No. 409,865-

3 Claims. (Cl. 22-9-31) tainers and which furthermore protectan article.disposed.

in the container.

The container embodied in the present invention is directed toward the open type container and is distinguished from the cellular container, which is defined as that type-which is formed with a plurality offlcells the cells being adapted to receive eggs or other frangible objects therein.

Prior to the instant invention, the open type containers known heretofore, which have been utilizedfon the, purpose of packaging and displaying of food products or-the like, were formed with a cover member if. it were.desir.- able to stack the containers one upon therother. Stacking the containers is oftentimes necessarysince the article disposed. therein must be protected from crushing. How.- ever, by utilizing-a separate cover. membenwith the con: tainer, additional folding was necessary when thewcarton was.- originally formed. 0r,.if the carton were formed of, a molded pulp-material, a separatecoven section ,had. to be molded with the container. This additional cover section necessarily increasedthe cost. OfJthGiCOmplCtfi container. Moreover, if thecontainenwere molded the additional. cover section created a shipping and. storing problem sincethe containers-could notlbe nested,..w ithin one another.

It is therefore an object of the present invention toproivide an open type container that. is formed. with corner supporting members which provide. for-the stacking of the container with similarly' forme'd containers; thereby;

eliminating the need of a cover member.

It is still another object ofthe present invention to provide a container that is formed from. ablankand folded so as to form corner supporting-. members,; the corner supporting members providing .fonthe; stacking -ofthe container.

Still another object of thepresent -invention-is-;to -provide a container that-is formed on a'single mold and stripped. therefrom, the: wallsofi the. container being moldedin generally divergent relation, thereby Providing for-the'nesting of the container with similarly formed containers for shipping or: storing:

Still another object of: the;.-present:- invention; -is.-,to provide. a container that isformedxwithia. plurality of corner posts,-the corner posts forming-supporting;.means for supporting similarly:formedcontainersathereont Still another object of the: present inventionis tOwPI'OYid6 a container thatris. provided with a-plurality of-corner posts, each of the cornerpostsb'eingformedswithi a top panel, the top panels forming supports.forreceivingnther similarly formedcontainers thereon.

Qther objectsiand the nature=and advantagestofizthe 2,822, lb Patented Feb. 4, 1958 2'. instant invention will be apparent from the following description" taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings,-'wherein: i i

Fig; lfisa' plan'view of-theblank from'whichthe container'embodied in the presentinventionis formed;

Fig. 2 is a plan viewof the container embodied'in the present invention in" the folded position and as it is used for the display of articles disposed therein;

Fig. 3- is'an endelevational view ofthe container illustratedin Fig; 3;-

Fig.- 4 isa's'ection taken on the line ,44-of Fig; 3;

Figr' 5"is a perspectiveviewgof'thecorner posts of the containeryembodied'in the-present invention;

Fig; dis a bottomplan-viewof-a portion of'the container embodied herein, illustrating the molded position of apcorner post when the container is stripped from a n e m d;

Fig; 7 is an;eleyat i onalview; of the portion of the container illustrated in- Fig; 6; and.

Fig, 8'-' i s 'a sectiontaken on the line 8--8 of Fig. 6.

In one'formoffthe present invention, the container is adaptedto be formed from a cardboardor paper blank and. folded from.the blank f orm tothe box formation along scored. fold lines For the, purpose of. describing the .present; invention, the. completely folded position of the eontainer or bonds delined' as the display position? since this isfthe ppsiti nn in which the.con tainer receives articles; fondisplay or. packaging. The container shown andfdescribedf herein may, also be. molded from a pulp material and as molded is defined'as. beingformed in a fnesting position. In themolded or nesting position, the

walls of .the container are formed in divergent relation to one another and thereby provide for .nestingof the container with; other containers for the purpose of ship: ping or. storing, the container walls being subsequently moved to a display position,.as Will be. more. fully described hereinafter.

,R'eferring now. to Fig. 1, the container. in blankgform is illustrated and this form of the invention willnow be described. The container blank .isgt nerallyiindicated at 10 an d as illustrated is adapted tobejfoldedinto'the box formation shownin Figs. 2-5. The blank 10 cornprises a bottom wall 12 which has .side walls 16 joined, thereto along the, foldlines 14 The. bottom walli l2j ihas .holes 13jformedtherein which are,p rovidedfor decreasing ,the weight of] the. container. It is also understood that, the holes 13j may. be provided for ventilating purposes and/ or for viewingthe article in the container. from the .bo ttom. The side walls 16 are formed with portions cut out hcrefrom the cut-out portions being definedjbetween the po' ints 1 8;, and thereby enablingthefood articlewliendisposed, in the foldedcontainer. to-bemoreeasily viewed; Joined; to each of the sidewalls 16 and forming thecorners of .the container are corner posts which. are generally indicated at 20; Eaeh of the corner posts20, which forirnsupporting meansfor supporting other similarly formed containers or other objectsthereon for protecting objects disposed'in the container, comprises sidepanels 2 2-which are joinedto, the sidewalls 16--along fol'd lines- 24. The side; panels 22 in the blank form arecontinuations -of 1 the side walls" 16'and' are defined by the fold lines 24*{andithe fold lines 26'; thereby forming right triangles. Interpose d between-the side panels 22 is a supporting panel: which is joined-totheside panels 22alongthe foldrlines 26 and is-for-medsas'an isosceles triangle, the two equal legs of the; isosceles'triangle.being. defined by theiold lines 26. The. sidepanels 22 and supporting panel 28,; all ofi: which have az triaugular configuration, have onc commonlapex whichis-located at the. point ,30, the-point 30; defining the intersection. of-:=the fold linesp2st; withthe fold lineslo.

loineddtotthe supporting panel 28 alongajbld line,.31

' supporting post when the blank is folded into the display position. Extensions 34 are joined to the top panel 32 along fold lines 36 and have locking flaps 38 formed thereon, the locking flaps 38 being adapted to be received by slits 40 formed in the side walls 16 and thereby providing means for locking the corner posts 20 into secure engagement with the side walls 16 when the container is folded into the display position.

When the blank of the container embodied herein is folded from the blank form shown in Pig. 1 into the display position illustrated in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, the side walls 16 are folded along the fold lines 14 until they are perpendicular to the bottom wall 12. In moving the side walls 16 to this position, the side panels 22 of the corner posts 20 are folded along the fold lines 24 until they are in face-to-face relation with the inner surface of the side walls 16. The fold lines 24 are then located adjacent to each other and define inner corners of the container. With the side panels 22 in face-to-face relation with the inner surface of the side walls 16, the supporting panel 28 extends upwardly from the point 30 and in divergent relation with respect to the bottom wall 12, the upper edge of the supporting panel 28 defined by the fold line 31 overhanging the point 30, as shown in Fig. 4. In this position, the extreme end points of the fold line 31, which are defined by the intersection of fold lines 26 with fold line 31, coincide with the points 18 formed from the cutout portions of the side walls 16, as shown in Figs. 2-5. The top panel 32 is next folded along the fold line 31 and is positioned in parallel relation with respect to the bottom wall 12, but is located in divergent relation with respect to the supporting panel 28, as illustrated particularly in Fig. 4. In the folded or display position, the side panels 22, supporting panels 28 and top panels 32 define inverted pyramids, an apex of each pyramid being located at each of the points 30. Since the supporting panels 28 are formed as isosceles triangles, and the side panels are formed as right triangles, the sides of the inverted pyramid are not equal. However, this construction enables the inverted pyramids to formfit the corners defined by the side walls 16, the side panels 22 lying along the inner surface of the side walls and the supporting panels 28 extending between the side walls and being inclined so that the upper edges thereof overhang the apices or points 30. In order to complete the folding of the corner posts, the extensions 34 are folded along the fold lines 36 into face-to-face relation with the outer surfaces of the side Walls 16, inner edges 42 of the extensions 34 meeting and overlying the inner corners defined by the fold lines 24 and thereby forming the outer corners of the folded container. The locking flaps 38 are then inserted into the slits 40 to lock the corner posts to the side Walls 16. If it is required, the extensions 36 may be securely fastened together at the inner edges 42 by applying a suitable paper adhesive around the aforesaid edges 42.

When the container has been folded into the display position from the blank illustrated in Fig. l, the top panels 32 of the corner posts 20 define supporting surfaces for receiving thereon other objects or loads or similarly formed containers. This provides for stacking of the containers, thereby conserving valuable storage space and furthermore providing for the protection of an article that may be positioned within the interior of the container. The supporting panels'ZS which are joined to the top panels 32 and are divergent thereto are adapted to transfer any load carried by the top panels 32 to the lowermost corners of the container. By transfering the load on the top panels 32 to the lowermost corners of the container, large loads may be carried by the container and many containers may be loaded and stacked one upon the other without fear of crushing the article positioned in each container. The container may be easily formed in the blank form and by scoring the blank to form the fold lines indicated, the

blank may be simply and quickly folded into the display position.

Referring now to Figs. 6-8, the container described herein is illustrated as it is formed when molded from a pulp material. The container when molded is adapted to be stripped from a single mold and in the molded form defines an open or nesting position. By forming the container in the nesting position, the container may be nested with other similarly formed containers and thereby a large number of containers may be shipped or stored in a relatively small area. As shown in Figs. 6-8, the side walls of the container and the corner post panels, when molded in the nesting position, are formed divergent to the container bottom wall 12. By molding the container walls and corner post panels in the nesting position, the stripping operation for removing the container from the mold is greatly facilitated since the container side walls and corner post panels are located in divergent relation with respect to the bottom wall 12. The container as molded includes the identical elements as described hereinabove in connection with the blank 10. Therefore, when the container is moved from the molded or nesting position to the display position, the movement of the side walls 16 and corner post panels 22, 28, 32 and 34 along their respective fold lines is accomplished in the same manner as set forth hereinabove. The molded container does differ from the container blank 10 in that the extensions 34, as molded, are joined along the edges 42. Thus, when the molded corner posts 20 are moved into the locked position with the side walls 16, the extensions 34 are already joined, thereby obviating the use of an adhesive paper or the like, which had been described above as being desirable for securing the extensions of the blank.

By referring particularly to Fig. 6, it is at once apparent that the corner posts 20, as molded, may be simply and quickly folded to the display position since the corner post panels 22, 28, 32 and 34 are located in divergent position to one another, thereby defining the fold lines therebetween. After the side walls 16 have been folded so that they are perpendicular to the bottom wall 12, the side panels 22 are folded into face-to-face relation along the inner surface of the side walls 16. This automatically positions the supporting panel 28 between the side walls 16 to form the inverted pyramid. The corner post is completed by folding the top panel 32 over the inverted pyramid, folding down the extensions 34 into face-to-face relation with the outer surface of the side walls 16, and inserting the locking flaps 38 into the slits 40. It is apparent that since the container illustrated in Figs. 6-8 is formed from a molded pulp material, it has a more rigid and stable construction than the container folded from thecardboard blank 10. However, both embodiments incorporate the new type corner post, which, whether formed by folding from a blank or from a molded pulp material, is an extremely strong construction and is capable of withstanding heavy loads placed thereon. v The present invention provides a container that is not only economically desirable to manufacture but also enables the user to conserve valuable storage or shipping space whether the container is utilized in blank form or molded form. The container in the molded form may be nested for shipment or storage with as many containers as practically possible and then simply and quickly moved to the display position to receive an article for display therein. The container, in addition to protecting the article disposed therein, provides an open container for fully viewing the article. If desirable, a convenient overwrap may be wrapped around the top of the article and secured to the underside of the container by some convenient means.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and therefore the invention is not limited to what is shown in the drawings and described in the specification but only as indicated in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a container, a bottom wall, side walls joined to said bottom wall and having slits formed therein adjacent the ends thereof, corner posts interconnecting said side walls and forming the corners of said container, each of said corner posts including triangular side panels, said side panels being located in face-to-face relation with the inner surfaces of said side walls, a supporting panel having a triangular configuration and cooperating With said triangular side panels to define an inverted pyramid, the apex of said pyramid coinciding with the intersection of the bottom edges of side Walls, and a top panel joined to each supporting panel and forming the top of the inverted pyramid, each of said top panels being formed in a right angle triangle, the hypotenuse of which is joined to said triangular supporting panel, extensions joined to the other sides of each of said top panels and having locking flaps formed thereon, said locking flaps being received by said slits in said side walls to lock said corner posts in position, said extensions being located in face-to-face relation with the outer surfaces of said side walls.

2. In a molded pulp container, 21 bottom wall, side walls hingedly joined to said bottom wall and located in non-planar relation thereto, corner posts joined to said side walls, each of said corner posts including a supporting panel, side panels hingedly joined to the sides of said supporting panel and an end of said side walls in non-planar relation thereto, a top panel hingedly joined to a third side of said supporting panel in non-planar relation thereto, and extensions hingedly joined to said top panel in non-planar relation thereto, each of said extensions including means for engaging the side wall adjacent thereto for locking said corner posts to said side walls, said non-planar walls and panels being hingedly moved from the molded position to a position of use, whereby said side walls are perpendicular to said bottom wall, said corner post side panels are located in face-to-face relation with the inner surface of said side walls, said corner post top panels are parallel to said bottom wall and divergent to said supporting wall and said extensions are located in face-to-face relation with the outer surface of said side walls.

3. In a molded pulp container as set forth in claim 2, said side walls having slits formed therein, and said engaging means being defined by locking flaps, said slits receiving said locking flaps therein for locking said corner posts to said side walls.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 640,557 Haas Jan. 2, 1900 1,373,365 Smouse Mar. 29, 1921 2,134,051 Kirby Oct. 25, 1938 2,315,105 Bonfield Mar. 30, 1943 2,568,204 Reeser Sept. 18, 1951 2,594,628 Evans Apr. 29, 1952 2,637,479 Cox May 5, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 274,645 Switzerland July 2, 1951 

